MLF: Sunday Rivalry Wins For DCU, Galaxy

Two games were played in Major League Soccer on Sunday.

At Washington:

Luis Silva (57') and Eddie Johnson (90'+1) provided the scoring in DC United's 2-0 blanking of the visiting New York Red Bulls as the tightened their hold on top spot in the Eastern Conference.  The victory clinched the Atlantic Cup (a competition between the two clubs) title for the hosts.  Goalkeeper Bill Hamid made five saves to preserve the shutout.

At Carson, California:

Gyasi Zardes scored twice (41', 71') as the Los Angeles Galaxy continued their late push for the Western Conference title (and a shot at the Supporters Shield) with their 3-0 domination of Chivas USA in an Angelino Derby (in fact, the final SuperClassico) that was designated a home game for the soon-to-be re-named and re-branded Goats, who finished the match with ten men, after Erick Torres was ejected via a straight red card in the 75th minute after his clumsy tackle on the Galaxy's Baggio Husidic.



MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. DC United (GP: 26; GD: +12; PTS: 46)
2. Kansas City (GP: 26; GD: +8; PTS: 42)
3. New England (GP: 25; GD: -2; PTS: 33)
4. Toronto FC (GP: 24; GD: -4; PTS: 33)
5. Columbus (GP: 26; GD: +1; PTS: 33)
6. New York (GP: 25; GD: +1; PTS: 31)
7. Philadelphia (GP: 25; GD: -1; PTS: 30)
8. Chicago (GP: 25; GD: -5; PTS: 29)
9. Houston (GP: 25; GD: -18; PTS: 28)
10. Montreal (GP: 25; GD: -18; PTS: 20)

NOTE: With New England, Toronto FC, and Columbus all level on points with 33, the Revolution have more wins (10) than the Reds (9) and Crew (8).

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Seattle (GP: 25; GD: +11; PTS: 48)
2. Los Angeles (GP: 25; GD: +21; PTS: 46)
3. Real Salt Lake (GP: 26; GD: +9; PTS: 43)
4. FC Dallas (GP: 26; GD: +11; PTS: 42)
5. Portland (GP: 26; GD: +1; PTS: 34)
6. Vancouver (GP: 25; GD: -1; PTS: 33)
7. Colorado (GP: 26; GD: -3; PTS: 30)
8. San Jose (GP: 24; GD: -4; PTS: 26)
9. Chivas USA (GP: 25; GD: -19; PTS: 24)

Par For The Course

Plagued by rotten play since the World Cup break, the Reds now find themselves in danger of missing the playoffs again---something they have always done.

Ex Team USA player Greg Vanney becomes the interim manager as Toronto FC try to lose their tag of being the only club in MLS history to never make the playoffs.

MLS: Sounders, Revs, Impact, Fire, Timbers Pick Up Saturday Wins; Quakes and RSL Draw

Six Major League Soccer matches were contested on Saturday.

At Seattle:

Clint Dempsey scored the only goal of the match in the 52nd minute as the Seattle Sounders defeated the visiting Colorado Rapids 1-0.

At Toronto:

Lee Nguyen (2'), Kelyn Rowe (21') and Teal Bunbury (58') each scored a goal as the New England Revolution dominated Toronto FC 3-0 on the road in a contest that saw the Revs' Jermaine Jones make his MLS debut in the 65th minute.

At Montreal:

Ignacio Piatti scored both goals (40', 90'+4) in the Montreal Impact's 2-0 home win over the Columbus Crew.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Robert Earnshaw scored the only goal of the Chicago Fire's 1-0 home win over FC Dallas in the 83rd minute.

At Vancouver, British Columbia:

Alvas Powell (51'), Maximiliano Urruti (75'), and Rodney Wallace (79') each produced a second-half goal as the Portland Timbers broke open what was a scoreless deadlock at halftime and dominated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 on the road in a Cascadia Cup clash.

At Santa Clara, California:

Javier Morales squared things up in the 36th minute with his successful penalty kick to lift Real Salt Lake to a 1-1 road draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.  Sam Cronin scored for the Quakes in the 14th minute.

MLS: Dynamo Knock Off SKC On Road

At Kansas City, Kansas:

In the lone Friday Major League Soccer match, delayed for 77 minutes because of lightning, Will Bruin (35'), David Horst (61'), and Ricardo Clark (67') each scored a goal as the Houston Dynamo knocked off Sporting Kansas City 3-1, ending a seven-game road losing streak.

Europa League Group-Stage Draw

The draw for the Europa League's group stage took place in Monaco on Friday.

GROUP A:

Villarreal (Spain)

Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany)

FC Zurich (Switzerland)

Apollon Limassol (Cyprus)



GROUP B:

FC Copenhagen (Denmark)

Club Brugge (Belgium)

Torino FC (Italy)

HJK Helsinki (Finland)



GROUP C:

Tottenham Hotspur (England)

Besiktas (Turkey)

Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)

Asteras Tripoli FC (Greece)



GROUP D:

FC Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)

Celtic FC (Scotland)

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

FC Astra Giurgiu (Romania)



GROUP E:

PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Panathinaikos (Greece)

Estoril (Portugal)

Dynamo Moscow (Russia)



GROUP F:

Inter Milan (Italy)

FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine)

Saint-Etienne (France)

Qarabag FK (Azerbaijan)



GROUP G:

Sevilla (Spain; won tournament last season)

Standard Liege (Belgium)

Feyenoord Rotterdam (Netherlands)

HNK Rijeka (Croatia)



GROUP H:

LOSC Lille Metropole (France)

VfL Wolfsburg (Germany)

Everton (England)

FC Krasnodar (Russia)



GROUP I:

Napola (Italy)

Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)

BSC Young Boys (Switzerland)

FC Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)



GROUP J:

Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

Steaua Bucharest (Romania)

Rio Ave (Portugal)

Aalborg BK (Denmark)



GROUP K:

Fiorentina (Italy)

PAOK FC (Greece)

Guingamp (France)

FC Dinamo Minsk (Belarus)



GROUP L:

FC Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine)

Trabzonspor (Turkey)

Legia Warsaw (Poland)

Lokeren (Belgium)

The action gets under way on September 18.  Each team in each group plays two games against each of the other clubs in its' group.  The top two finishing teams in each group would advance to the knockout stage, where they would be joined by the third-placed club from each of the Champions League's eight groups.

CONCACAF Champions League: Waterhouse, Olimpia, Alajuelense Grab Thursday Wins

Group-stage action in the CONCACAF Champions League continued on Thursday with three games.

Group Four:

At Kingston, Jamaica:

Jermaine Anderson scored twice (13', 55') as Waterhouse FC dominated visiting Tauro FC 4-1.

GROUP FOUR STANDINGS:

1. Waterhouse FC (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS: 6)
2. DC United (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Tauro FC (GP: 2; GD: -4; PTS: 0)



Group Five:

At Tegucigalpa, Honduras:

Fredickson Elvir produced a hat trick (29', 54', 74') while Antony Lozano added a double (19', 61') as CD Olimpia annihilated visiting Alpha United 6-0 and eliminated the club from Guyana from the tournament.

GROUP FIVE STANDINGS:

1.   CD Olimpia (GP: 2; GD: +7; PTS: 6)
2.   Portland Timbers (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
3.z-Alpha United FC (GP: 3; GD: -10; PTS: 0)

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group Six:

At Alajuela, Costa Rica:

Armando Alonso scored the only goal of the match in the 15th minute as LD Alajuelense defeated visiting Chorrillo FC 1-0.

GROUP SIX STANDINGS:

1. LD Alajuelense (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
2. Chorrillo FC (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 3)
3. Cruz Azul (GP:2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)

UEFA Champions League Group-Stage Draw: Atletico Get Juve, Legend, Mamlo; Defending Champs Get Liverpool, Basel, Ludogorets; Monaco Joined By Benfica, Zenit, Leverkusen; Gunners Get Dortmund, Anderlecht, Galatasaray; It's Citizens, Roma, Horses For Bayern; Barca Draw Ajax, PSG, APOEL; Sporting Draw Chelsea, Royal Blues, Maribor; Donetsk, BATE, Athletic Bilbao For Dragons

The draw for the UEFA Champions League's group stage took place on Thursday in Monaco.

Read it and weep.

GROUP A:

Atletico Madrid (Spain)

Juventus (Italy)

Olympiacos (Greece)

Malmo FF (Sweden)



GROUP B:

Real Madrid (Spain; defending champions)

FC Basel (Switzerland)

Liverpool (England)

Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria)



GROUP C:

SL Benfica (Portugal)

Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia)

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

AS Monaco (France)



GROUP D:

Arsenal (England)

Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Galatasaray (Turkey)

RSC Anderlecht (Belgium)



GROUP E:

Bayern Munich (Germany)

Manchester City (England)

CSKA Moscow (Russia)

AS Roma (Italy)



GROUP F:

FC Barcelona (Spain)

Paris Saint-Germain (France)

Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands)

APOEL FC (Cyprus)



GROUP G:

Chelsea (England)

FC Schalke 04 (Germany)

Sporting CP (Portugal)

NK Maribor (Slovenia)



GROUP H:

FC Porto (Portugal)

Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

Athletic Bilbao (Spain)

FC BATE Borisov (Belarus)


Action begins on September 16, with each team in each group playing twice against each of the other three teams in its group.  The top two teams in each group would advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League while each of the eight third-place teams would join the Europa League's knockout stage.

Europa League Playoff-Round: Spurs, Inter, Torino, Monchengladbach, Yellow Submarine, Feyenoord Reach Group Stage; Hull City, Grasshoppers Eliminated

31 games were contested on Thursday as the Europa League’s playoff round came to a close.

At Moscow:

Jan Resek (20'), Fotios Papoulis (41'), Rogerio Thuram (78'), and Hugo Lopez (84') each scored a goal as Apollon Limassol dominated Lokomotiv Moscow 4-1 on the road in game two and won their series 5-2 on aggregate, advancing to the Europa League's group stage.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Christopher Samba scored the game and series-winning goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time as Dynamo Moscow defeated AC Omonia 2-1 on the road in game two and ousted the Cypriot club 4-3 on aggregate.

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Petar Skuletic scored twice (24', 90'+2) as Partizan Belgrade defeated Neftchi Baku 2-1 on the road in game two and won their series 5-3 on aggregate.

At Kiev, Ukraine:

In a match that was transferred to the Ukrainian capital because of the conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists, Cleiton Xavier, following another 0-0 stalemate in regulation of game two, scored the only goal of the series in the 105th minute as FC Metalist Kharkiv defeated visiting Ruch Chorzow in overtime 1-0 on aggregate to advance.

At Krasnodar, Russia:

Joaozinho (PK-71'), Mauricio Pereyra (88'), and Ari (90') each scored a goal as FC Krasnodar overcame their series-opening road defeat with a 3-0 home domination of Real Sociedad in game two and won their series 3-1 on aggregate.

At Thessaloniki, Greece:

Facundo Pereyra (11'), Stefanos Athanasiadis (45'), Robert Mak (79'), and Maarten Martens (84') provided the goal power as PAOK FC demolished visiting FC Zimbru Chisinau 4-0 in game two and took out the Moldovan club by that same score on aggregate.

At Giurgiu, Romania:

Despite dropping a 1-0 home decision in game two to Lyon, FC Astra Giurgiu, with the aggregate score at 2-2, still won their series with the French club on away goals.

At Split, Croatia:

A 0-0 game-two road deadlock with Hajduk Split enabled FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk to win their series 2-1 on aggregate.

At Rostov-on-Don, Russia:

A 0-0 game-two road stalemate with FC Rostov was good enough for Trabzonspor as the Turkish club won their series 2-0 on aggregate.

At Barysow, Belarus:

Memphis DePay scored twice in the final minutes (89', 90'+3) as PSV Eindhoven blanked FC Shakhtyor Salihorsk 2-0 on the road in game two and won their two-match series 3-0 on aggregate.

At Tiraspol, Moldova:

Ligger (OG-29'), Andrej Kramaric (44'), and Moises Lima Magalhaes (61') each delivered a goal as HNK Rijeka dominated FC Sheriff 3-0 on the road in game two and won their series 4-0 on aggregate.

At Larnaca, Cyprus:

Due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas-dominated Gaza, this match was moved to Cyprus.  In the contest, Dorin Goian scored what proved to be the series winner in the 23rd minute as Asteras Tripoli FC, despite conceding three unanswered goals and dropping a 3-1 road decision in game two to Maccabi Tel Aviv, still managed to advance on away goals with the aggregate score at 3-3.

At Enschede, Netherlands:

Maurem Mauren scored the series-winning goal in the 51st minute as Qarabag FK gained a game-two 1-1 road draw with FC Twente and, with the aggregate score also at 1-1, took out the Dutch club on away goals.

At Herning, Denmark:

Mariano Gonzalez Maroto, a.k.a. Nano (55') and Viktor Klonaridis (74') delivered the goals as Panathinaikos defeated FC Midtjylland 2-1 on the road in game two and won their series 6-2 on aggregate.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Elvis Manu scored the game and series-winning goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time as Feyenoord Rotterdam defeated visiting FC Zorya Luhansk 4-3 in game two and won their two-game series 5-4 on aggregate.

At Debrecen, Hungary:

A 0-0 game two road draw was good enough for BSC Young Boys and the Swiss club ousted Debreceni VSC 3-1 on aggregate.

At Prague, Czech Republic:

Ladislav Krejci (10'), Borek Dockal (44'), and Jakub Brabec (62') produced the goals as Sparta Prague defeated visiting PEC Zwolle 3-1 in game two and took out the Dutch club 4-2 on aggregate.

At St. Gallen, Switzerland:

Yacine Chikhaoui scored in the 48th minute as FC Zurich gained a game-two 1-1 home draw with FC Spartak Trnava, good enough for the Swiss club to win their series 4-2 on aggregate.

At Vienna, Austria:

Macoumba Kandji (15'), Nikolai Alho (77'), and Demba Savage (PK-88') as HJK Helsinki erased a two-goal deficit and gained a 3-3 game-two road draw with Rapid Vienna and a 5-4 on aggregate series victory.

At Turin, Italy:

Omar El Kaddouri's penalty kick in the 22nd minute provided the only goal of the series as Torino defeated visiting RNK Split 1-0 both in game two and on aggregate for the series.

At Saint-Etienne, France

After Kevin Monnet-Paquet scored in the 13th minute for the only goal of regulation of game two, which saw Saint-Etienne top visiting Karabukspor 1-0, thus deadlocking the series at 1-1 on aggregate, the hosts (after 30 minutes of scoreless overtime), with Renaud Cohade, Florentin Pogba, the aforementioned Kevin Monnet-Paquet, amd Mark Gradel all having converted their spot kicks, won the penalty-kick shootout, 4-3 to advance to the group stage.

At Monchengladbach, Germany:

Branimir Hrgota delivered a hat trick (34', 67', 82') while Thorgan Hazard added a double (PK-74', 90'+2) as Borussia Monchengladbach annihilated visiting FK Sarajevo 7-0 in game two and handily finished off the Bosnian club 10-2 on aggregate.

At Villarreal, Spain:

Luciano Vietto scored twice (21', 54') as Villarreal demolished visiting FC Astana 4-0 in game two and won their series 7-0 on aggregate.

At London:

Harry Kane (45'), Paulinho (49'), and Andros Townsen (PK-66') each delivered a second-half goal as Tottenham Hotspur dominated visiting AEL Limassol 3-0 in game two and won their series with the Cypriot club 5-1 on aggregate.


At Funchal, Portugal:

Shikoze Udodji scored twice (32', 63') as Dinamo Minsk defeated CD Nacional 3-2 on the road in match two and won their two-game series with the Portuguese club 5-2 on aggregate.

At Kingston upon Hull, England:

Jordan Remacle scored the series-winning goal in the 49th minute as Sporting Lokoren, despite dropping a 2-1 game-two decision on the road to Hull City, still ousted the Tigers on away goals with the aggregate score at 2-2.

At Milan, Italy:

Mateo Kovacic produced a hat trick (28', 33', 51') while Mauro Icardi added a double (69', 80') as Inter Milan destroyed visiting Stjarnan 6-0 in game two and finished off the Icelandic club 9-0 on aggregate.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Duje Cop (22') and Domagoj Antolic (90'+6) delivered the scoring as Dinamo Zagreb defeated visiting FC Petrolul Ploiesti 2-1 in game two and won their series 5-2 on aggregate.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Michal Kucharczyk (26') and Ivica Vrdokjak (PK-66') each score once as Legia Warsaw blanked visiting FC Aktobe 2-0 in game two and won their series 3-0 on aggregate.

At Bruges, Belgium:

Victor Vazquez scored the only goal of the match in the 62nd minute as Club Brugge defeated visiting Grasshoppers 1-0 in game two and won their series 3-1 on aggregate (sigh).

At Vila do Conde, Portugal:
Esmael Goncalves came through with the series-winning goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time as Rio Ave defeated visiting IF Elfsborg 1-0 in game two and, with the aggregate score at 2-2, won the series on away goals.

MLS: Galaxy Too Much For DCU

At Carson, California:

In the lone Wednesday Major League Soccer contest, Alan Gordon (2'), Omar Gonzalez (25'), Baggio Husidic (45'+1), and Landon Donovan (75') each delivered a goal as the Los Angeles Galaxy dominated visiting DC United 4-1.

CONCACAF Champions League: Pachuca Blow Out Municipal In Guatemala, Put Themselves On Cusp Of Semis; Leon Held To Home Draw With Herediano

Group-stage play in the CONCACAF Champions League continued on Wednesday with two games.

Group One:

At Guatemala City:

Abraham Carreno delivered a hat trick (20', 45'+1, 81') while Ariel Nahuelpan added a double (PK-39', 90'+1) as Pachuca manhandled home-standing CSD Municipal 7-3.

GROUP ONE STANDINGS:

1. Pachuca (GP: 2; GD: +7; PTS: 6)
2. Real Espana (GP: 2; GD: -3; PTS: 1)
3. CSD Municipal (GP: 2; GD: -4; PTS: 1)



Group Seven:

At Leon, Mexico:

Mauro Boselli's equalizer in the 89th minute enable Leon to  salvage a 1-1 home draw with Herediano. Francisco Calvo scored for the visiting Costa Rican club in the 65th minute.

GROUP SEVEN STANDINGS:

1. Club Sport Herediano (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 4)
2. Club Leon (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
3. AD Isidro Metapan (GP: 2; GD: -6; PTS: 0)

UEFA Champions League Playoff Round: Gunners, Leverkusen, Ludogorets (After PK Thriller), Malmo, Athletic Bilbao Advance To Group Stage

Five more clubs locked up berths in the group stage as not only the playoff round, but the qualifying process for the UEFA Champions League came to a conclusion.

At Malmo, Sweden:

Markus Rosenberg scored twice (PK-11', 84') as Malmo FF overcame their series-opening 2-1 road defeat with a 3-0 home win over FC Red Bull Salzburg in game two and won the series 4-2 on aggregate to become the first Swedish club to reach the Champions League's group stage since Helsingborgs IF in 2000.

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

After Wanderson Cristaldo Farias delivered the only goal of regualation in the 90th minute that enabled PFC Ludogorets Razgrad to win game two against visiting Steaua Bucharest 1-0 and deadlock the two-match series at 1-1 on aggregate, which set the stage for what proved to be 30 minutes of scoreless overtime, Cosmin Moti, Hamza Younes, Junior Ciacara, Marcelinho, Svetoslav Dyakov, and Fabio Espinho converted their spot kicks as the Bulgarian club took the penalty-kick shootout 6-5 to advance to the Champions League's group stage for the first time. 

At London:

Alexis Sanchez scored the only goal of both the game and the series in the opening minute of first-half stoppage time as Arsenal, despite ending the game with ten men, blanked visiting Besiktas 1-0 in both game two and the series on aggregate to advance to the group stage.

At Leverkusen, Germany:

Stefan Kiessling scored twice (PK-31', 65') as Bayer Leverkusen demolished visiting FC Copenhagen 4-0 in game two and finished off the Danish club 7-2 on aggregate.

At Bilbao, Spain:

Aritz Aduriz scored twice (61', 69') as Athletic Bilbao defeated visiting Napoli 3-1 in game two and took out the Italian club 4-3 on aggregate.

All clubs that were eliminated at this round would still qualify for the group stage of the Europa League.

AFC Champions League: FC Seoul Wins PK Shootout; Western Sydney Ousts Defending Champs On Away Goals

Two games were played on Wednesday as the quarterfinal round of the AFC Champions League concluded.

At Seoul, South Korea:

After a second 0-0 stalemate, which was followed by 30 scoreless overtime minutes, Everton Santos, Osmar Barba, and Mauricio Molina all converted their spot kicks as FC Seoul won the penalty-kick shootout 3-0 over visiting Pohang Steelers to advance to the semifinal round.

At Guangzhou, China:

Tomi Juric provided the series-winning goal with his successful penalty kick in the 58th minute as the Western Sydney Wanderers, despite dropping a 2-1 road decision in game two to Guangzhou Evergrande, still, with the aggregate score at 2-2, won their series on away goals and dethroned the defending continental champions.

Match-ups for the semifinal round, with the hosts listed first:

Tuesday, September 16:

At Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) vs. Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates), game one

Wednesday, September 17:

At Seoul, South Korea:

FC Seoul (South Korea) vs. Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia), game one

Tuesday, September 30)

At Al Ain, United Arab Emirates:

Al-Ain vs. Al-Hilal, game two

Wednesday, October 1:

At Sydney, Australia:

Western Sydney Wanderers vs. FC Seoul

The semifinal winners will meet in the two-game AFC Champions League final:

Saturday, October 25:

At Seoul, South Korea or Sydney, Australia:

FC Seoul-Western Sydney Winner vs. Al-Hilal-Al-Ain winner, game one

Saturday, November 1:

At Riyadh, Saudi Arabia or Al Ain, United Arab Emirates:

Al-Hilal-Al-Ain winner vs. FC Seoul-Western Sydney winner, game two

The winner of the AFC Champions League final will travel to Morocco for December's FIFA Club World Cup.

CONCACAF Champions League: Red Bulls, Saprissa Rack Up Wins; Comunicaciones, America Draw

Three games were played on Tuesday as CONCACAF Champions League group-stage action resumed.

Group Two:

At San Jose, Costa Rica:

Ariel Rodriguez delivered a natural hat trick (18', 74', 89') as Deportivo Saprissa dominated visiting Real Esteli 3-0.

GROUP TWO STANDINGS:

1. Deportivo Saprissa (GP: 2; GD: +3; PTS: 4)
2. Real Esteli FC (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 2)
3. Sporting Kansas City (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)



Group Three:

At Harrison, New Jersey:
Saer Sene (11') and Lloyd Sam (70') delivered the goals as the New York Red Bulls blanked visiting CD FAS 2-0, making the Salvadorian club the first to be eliminated from the tournament.

GROUP THREE STANDINGS:

1.   Montreal Impace (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
2.   New York Red Bulls (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3) 
3.z-CD FAS (GP: 3; GD: -4; PTS: 0)

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group Eight:

At Guatemala City, Guatemala:

Rolando Blackburn's equalizer in the 28th minute enabled CSD Comunicaciones to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Club America.  Oribe Peralta scored for the visiting Mexican club in the fifth minute. 

GROUP EIGHT STANDINGS:

1. Club America (GP: 2; GD: +5; PTS: 4)
2. CSD Comunicaciones (GP: 2; GD: +5; PTS: 4)
3. Puerto Rico Bayamon FC (GP: 2; GD: -10; PTS: 0)

UEFA Champions League Playoff Round: Zenit Advance To Group Stage

Five clubs advanced to the group stage as the UEFA Champions League's playoff round continued with five games on Tuesday.

At Saint Petersburg, Russia:

Hulk scored twice during a four-minute stretch in the second half (PK-54', 58') as Zenit Saint Petersburg dominated visiting Standard Liege 3-0 in game two and took out the Belgian club 4-0 on aggregate.

At Nicosia, Crprus:

Four different goal scorers---starting with Vinicius Oliveiro Franco in the 29th minute---each scored once as APOEL FC demolished visiting Aalborg BK 4-0 in game two and finished off the Danish club 5-1 on aggregate.

At Barysaw, Belarus:

Mikhail Gordeychuk (41'), Sergey Krivets (84'), and Vitali Rodionov (85') each delivered a goal as FC BATE Borisov dominated visiting FC Slovan Bratislava 3-0 in game two and ousted the Slovakian club 4-1 on aggregate.

At Porto, Portugal:

Yacine Brahimi (49') and Jackson Martinez (69') each tallied once in the second half as FC Porto blanked visiting LOSC Lille Metropole 2-0 in game two and eliminated the Mastiffs 3-0 on aggregate.

At Glasgow:

Marcos Tavares scored the only goal of the match in the 75th minute as NK Maribor knocked off Celtic 1-0 on the road in game two and knocked out the Bhoys 2-1 on aggregate to advance to the Champions League's group stage for the first time in 15 years.

AFC Champions League: Al-Hilal Advance To Semifinals

The quarterfinal round of the AFC Champions League resumed with two games contested on Tuesday.

At Doha, Qatar:

A 0-0 game-two road stalemate with Al-Sadd was good enough for Al-Hilal as the Saudi Arabian club won their series 1-0 on aggregate.

At Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

Asamoah Gyan (40'), Omar Abdulrahman (66'), and Diaky Ibrahim (83') delivered the scoring as Al-Ain dominted Al-Ittihad 3-0 on the road in game two and won their series 5-1 on aggregate.

MLS: Sounders, Philly Grab 4-2 Sunday Wins

Two games were played in Major League Soccer on Sunday.

At Portland, Oregon:

Obafemi Martins scored twice (18', 76') as the Seattle Sounders doubled up the Portland Timbers 4-2 on the road in a Cascadia Cup clash to open up a three-point lead atop the Western Conference standings and reclaim pole position in the race for the Supporters Shield.

At Chester, Pennsylvania:

Andrew Wenger scored twice (10', 79') as the Philadelphia Union defeated the visiting San Jose Earthquakes 4-2.



MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. DC United (GP: 24; GD: +13; PTS: 45)
2. Kansas City (GP: 25; GD: +10; PTS: 42)
3. Toronto FC (GP: 23; GD: -1; PTS: 33)
4. Columbus (GP: 25; GD: +3; PTS: 33)
5. New York Red Bulls (GP: 24; GD: +3; PTS: 31)
6. New England (GP: 24; GD: -5; PTS: 30)
7. Philadelphia (GP: 25; GD: -1; PTS: 30)
8. Chicago (GP: 24; GD: -6; PTS: 26)
9. Houston (GP: 24; GD: -20; PTS: 25)
10. Montreal (GP: 24; GD: -20; PTS: 17)

NOTES:  With Toronto FC and Columbus level on points with 33, the Reds have more wins (9) than the Crew (8); with New England and Philadelphia level on points (30), the Revs have more wins (9) than the Union (7).



WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Seattle (GP: 24; GD: +10; PTS: 45)
2. FC Dallas (GP: 25; GD: +12; PTS: 42)
3. Real Salt Lake (GP: 25; GD: +9; PTS: 42)
4. Los Angeles (GP: 23; GD: +15; PTS: 40)
5. Vancouver (GP: 24; GD: +2; PTS: 33)
6. Portland (GP: 25; GD: -2; PTS: 31)
7. Colorado (GP: 25; GD: -2; PTS: 30)
8. San Jose (GP: 23; GD: -4; PTS: 25)
9. Chivas USA (GP: 24; GD: -16; PTS: 24)

NOTE: With FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake level on points (42), the Hoops have won more games than RSL (12-11).